Itsuka Clan
The Itsuka clan is the current royal clan of the Tsaesci. They are considered the most powerful among the six clans descended from Nozomi Itsuka, the one who brought the clan to power. Every member is known to be a Spirit Pressure user. The Itsuka clan is ancestral to all modern members of the Five Guardian clans, namely the Hoshimiya, the Shiragane, the Onigawara, the Akashi and the Mikogami. All five clans were originated when a Tsaesci Itsuka princess married their original founder. The Itsuka clan's unique Spirit Pressure cultivation technique is used to break through "the boundary of zero and infinity", reflecting their stance on Spirit Pressure quite well. Origin The Itsuka clan has existed for a long time, having rose to some reknown by the time the Third Tsaesci Dynasty reached its middle age. It survived the fall of the Third Dynasty and existed through the entire Fourth Dynasty as a subordinate clan of the then ruling Shiragane clan. Before the Fifth Tsaesci Dynasty began, in the twilight years of the Fourth Dynasty, a powerful female Spirit Pressure user by the name of Nozomi married into the clan and took their last name. The beginning of the Fifth Dynasty began when Nozomi Itsuka's husband was put to death for the charge of conspiring against the then Shiragane Emperor, who coveted the wealth and lands of the family. Nozomi swore revenge and decided to practice the secret technique known as Dragon Alchemy, so she could take revenge on the Emperor. Nozomi used her newfound power to clash with the Shiragane Emperor, whom she managed to defeat after many bloody battles between the standing army of both belligerents. Nozomi herself was killed in the process in spite of the immense power she had obtained, falling to the Shiragane Emperor in a mutual kill when the two of them actually battled. Her military command was taken over by her sole heir, Akira Itsuka, the first Emperor of the Fifth Dynasty. The Shiragane dynasty was left without a heir as Akira led forces to finish off the remaining direct descendants of the Shiragane Emperor. Akira forced the Shiragane clan to surrender and killed all those who resisted. The remaining Shiragane, comprised of just two brothers, were forced to marry Akira's daughters and become a subordinate clan to the Itsuka. Nozomi was posthumously awarded the title of Ancestral Empress by her son. Thus, the Itsuka clan came into power as the fifth dynasty of Tsaesci Rulers and they continued to hand down this position from one generation to the next. They continued to defend the country against the Ka Po Tun invasions, but when the Emperor Tosh Raka Li Xuanwen came to the Ka Po Tun throne, the Tsaesci began to lose land to the Ka Po Tun. The Itsuka clan tried their best to defend and caused many casualties on the Ka Po Tun side, but they and their five Guardian Clans were fighting a slowly losing war of attrition. Resurgence The Itsuka clan steadily lost land to the Ka Po Tun over the years, destroying the faith the people had in them. The change in their fortunes came upon the birth of their latest Emperor, Ryunnosuke Itsuka. The boy was born different from his predecessors, having great intelligence and a high aptitude for the use of Spirit Pressure, even when compared to the best of his generation. Ryunnosuke went through a somewhat difficult childhood, which was only rectified when he met his future wife Ayaka for the first time. The two of them, through a series of circumstances, eventually came to marry each other and managed to push back the Ka Po Tun forces that occupied the Tsaesci lands for a long time, earning much praise from both the Guardian Clans and the people at large. The great achievements of Emperor Ryunnosuke and Empress Ayaka reignited the confidence the people had in the Itsuka clan. This stabilised the Tsaesci nation once more and centralised power again, which led to an age of relative peace. Unique traits The Itsuka clan is the original clan descended from Nozomi Itsuka, which explains their expanded capabilities that basic Tsaesci lack. As Nozomi's blood flows in them and she was pregnant with their second ancestor Akira Itsuka when she performed the arts of the Dragon Alchemy, Akira's own blood was forever changed and passed down from generation to generation. This is the origin of the crimson eyes that the five Guardian Clans and the Royal Clan possess. The Itsuka clan, by virtue of their inheritance, have some traits of a user of Dragon Alchemy, including the following: * Improved ability to learn and use spirit pressure * Improved recovery for both magicka and stamina * Disease immunity and poison resistance * Biological Immortality * Total control over the own mind * Blood with a large amount of magical power that can be broken down to release magicka for use. * Enhanced blood regeneration and bleeding resistance. As mentioned, the entire Itsuka Clan are Spirit Pressure users and start practicing Spirit Pressure techniques early in their lives. They use Tsaesci Style Spirit Pressure with a strong focus on balance and do not specialize in any particular form of Spirit Pressure usage. This gives them general high ability with Spirit Pressure, but they do not excel in any area. The Itsuka clan is highly skilled at Akaviri Movement Techniques and this is taught to them at the same time they learn the use of Spirit Pressure. They are known to rely on high speed in battle to catch opponents by surprise and maneuverability to avoid incoming attacks. They use the Tsaesci form of movement. The Itsuka clan is particularly good at using lightning form Spirit Pressure and generally can translate their magicka into powerful electrical abilities using Elementalism, granting most of them electrokinesis of sorts. While lightning form Spirit Pressure is not limited to the Itsuka, it is generally associated with them where the Tsaesci are concerned. In fact, most members of the Itsuka Clan are able to use more than one element, generally including the use of flame based attacks or ice based ones. Ideology The Itsuka clan believes in gaining power to continue to stay at the top of the Tsaesci society. They exhort the virtue of wisdom and power as the cornerstone of their tenets, valuing intelligence, talent and hard work in conjunction. It can be said that the Itsuka believe that hard work is worthless with no talent, and talent is wasted and useless with no hard work. The Itsuka also believe that only the wise should be allowed to rule. As such, they hold themselves to high standards of conduct and academics in most cases and punish clan members who do not fall in line. There are more extreme individuals in the clan who look down on those who are not from the Guardian Clans and believe that the "Crimson Eyed Ones" and the "Dark Eyed Ones" among the Tsaesci should not marry, but these are rare. Most Itsuka members respect anyone who can show enough learning, cultivation and power. The Itsuka clan knows the importance of preparing for war and to always be ready for the day the Tsaesci lands are invaded, but look down on those who actively make war as uncultured barbarians, seeing war as a necessary evil. They do not advocate for the obtaining of resources via warfare and conquering. In a similar vein, banditry and assassination are not tolerated on the soil of the Tsaesci lands. The Itsuka clan believes in refinement and good surface bearing, so they naturally try to look their best for any situation. To them, external appearance is no less important than good character as it is a reflection of self awareness and efforts to improve, so all members should strive towards achieving both. They set high standards for themselves and choose to achieve said high standards, which makes it mandatory for all of them to learn personal grooming and keep training physically to keep in shape. Traditions The clan banner of the Itsuka clan is represented by two entwined (Eastern) dragons ascending into the air, one silver and one golden, both with five digit claws on their limbs. This symbolises their emphasis on achievement, their descent from Nozomi and their hope that one day someone will again reach Nozomi's heights in terms of power and achievements. The five digit claws of the dragons represent of course, their family name. The clan head of the Itsuka is the Emperor of the Itsuka clan. There is no exception to this rule. All Itsuka Emperors have been male and succession through the female line is forbidden. Only boys born to the Itsuka clan are allowed to pass their name to their descendants and all girls are to marry out of the family, taking the names and titles of their husband while relinquishing their status as a princess. It is impossible for a male to marry into the Itsuka clan. If an Emperor does not have a suitable male heir in the form of a son, his nephews, brothers or male line cousins (that must have the last name Itsuka) will succeed him upon abdication or death. Only under the extraordinary circumstance of there being no male line members left will the Itsuka clan allow succession through the female line. Even so, the prospective princess and her husband will not inherit the throne, only their son if they have any. As the Itsuka clan is by no means small, this is an unlikely, if impossible situation unless all of them were killed of at one go. Besides the Emperor, polygamy is actually frowned upon within the Itsuka clan. There is an unspoken rule that the Itsuka Emperor sets the number of wives that any male member is permitted to have, which is not exceeding that of the Emperor. Should the Emperor choose to only take one wife, like Emperor Ryunnosuke, while preexisting marriages will not be broken, the male members of the clan who are already married would be forbidden from taking a second wife. Itsuka clan clothing has always been tailored to fit an idealized but not unreasonable body shape based on measurements and bone structure once an individual has achieved maturity. Rather than the clothing being made to fit the person, the clan member has to work hard until they can fit into the clothing. An Itsuka is not considered a full adult until they can fit into these customised clothes. Since high mastery of Spirit Pressure allows body manipulation and refinement to some degree, this is not actually difficult with Spirit Pressure. Nozomi Itsuka's blood that has been passed down also aids in keeping them young and able constantly. A consequence of this is that most, if not all, Itsuka clan members have very consistent body proportion, with most variance being solely due to height and the changes in weight and size due to that. The members of the Itsuka clan have always been barred from public office in the Tsaesci Empire and report directly to the Emperor. This means they are not allowed to serve as civil officials and any position in the military is from the perspective of a specially appointed royal overseer that represents the Itsuka clan. This prevents any Itsuka family member from gaining political standing independent of the entire family, hence no one can threaten the power of the Emperor with a legitimate claim. The clan is known to be basically homogeneous in terms of rank besides the Emperor being the de facto head of the entire clan, which means that no individual Itsuka is more prestigious than another. Factors such as age, generation or similar are all considered irrelevant in the face of the Emperor. There are different things expected from male and female members of the Itsuka clan, though, but everyone has to conform to the standards set for them by the clan's internal rules and the Emperor. Known members Alive * Emperor Ryunnosuke Itsuka * Empress Ayaka Itsuka * Princess Kasumi Itsuka * Prince Tetsuya Itsuka * Princess Mayuri Itsuka (mentioned, Kasumi's youngest sister) * Princess Kurumi Itsuka (mentioned, Kasumi's oldest sister) * Prince Terumi Itsuka (mentioned, Kasumi's older brother) Deceased * Ancestral Empress Nozomi Itsuka * Emperor Akira Itsuka Trivia * The name "Itsuka" is inspired from the Date a Live anime, and means "Five Streams". This is very appropriate as there are five elements in the traditional Chinese Wuxing, the Itsuka Dynasty is the Fifth Dynasty and also because the Itsuka clan is the progenitor of the five Guardian Clans. * Emperor Ryunnosuke and Empress Ayaka even have five children, again tying in with the name. * Where the Wuxing is considered, the Itsuka clan is considered the "complete Wuxing" with the elements in harmony. * The Itsuka Clan's dragon banner is inspired by the Imperial Chinese "five clawed dragon". Category:Bloodlines Category:Factions Category:Echoes of the Orient Category:Clans